Steve Sarkisian on last season's 5-7 record: 'Those were some excruciating losses'

Steve Sarkisian didn’t beat around the bush regarding his 5-7 record in his inaugural season at Texas. The Longhorns coach knows he has to improve, and has been working to ensure a better finish in 2022.

At the Touchdown Club of Houston luncheon on Wednesday, Sarkisian was asked to evaluate the performance from this past season. Although his answer was brief, he hit the nail on the head for many Longhorns fans.

“5-7 is 5-7,” the coach said. “I’ll call it like it is. It sucks. Those were some excruciating losses.”

Last year’s finish was the fourth time in the past 12 seasons that Texas has posted a losing record, and snapped a four-year streak of bowl game appearances. Perhaps the lowest point of the year came after a 57-56 overtime loss to Kansas, a team that has won just three conference games over the past five seasons. It also made the Longhorns the only Power 5 school with multiple losses to the Jayhawks over the past decade.

Sarkisian has got to work retooling the roster through the transfer portal this offseason, adding former Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers. A five-star recruit in the 2021 class, Ewers ranks as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 3 overall player according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. The Longhorns also brought in two pass catchers from Alabama in receiver Agiye Hall and tight end Jahleel Billingsley.

Adding those playmakers to an offense that already includes receiver Xavier Worthy (981 receiving yards, 12 TDs) and running back Bijan Robinson (1,127 yards rushing, 11 TDs) has resulted in high expectations for 2022. Texas enters with the second-best odds to win the Big 12 at 2/1.

This is a familiar story for the Longhorns, who typically approach every football season with lofty goals. Unfortunately, they have failed to live up to that hype in recent years, having failed to win the Big 12 since 2009. Since Mack Brown resigned in 2013, Texas has had three different head coaches including Sarkisian.

Only one of those coaches has delivered a record with more than 10 wins (Tom Herman in 2018), but Steve Sarkisian will hope he can soon become the second. The Longhorns will look to make last year a distant memory when they open up the season on Sept. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe.